Brightwood Farm
by Star Fata
Summary: Hammer pays a visit to her old friend, Sparrow. Whatever she was expecting, it wasn't what she found.


**AN- This was intended to be an overview of Heroic Homes. I fell out of love with Fable a while ago though, and as a result decided to tie up the story quickly and publish it. I may write the full version one day, but I wouldn't count on it.**

**Disclaimer- If you recognise it, it isn't mine.**

It had been three years since she'd last seen Sparrow. Or whatever title she was going by this week, Hammer smirked. Three years since Sparrow had managed to manipulate Theresa so well that none of them had noticed until they heard rumours of the Hero of Bowerstone and her dog traipsing across Albion once more.

"I wish for all those killed as a consequence of Lucien's quest for power to be revived." Sparrow (or Desperado as she was known then) had wished, not even looking at the tarot cards Theresa has shown her.

The four heroes had separated, Reaver and Garth had gone to Samarkand and she herself had gone to the Warrior Monks. She had felt bad for her friend, seeing all the people resurrected by the Spire. When the rumours of the Chosen One had reached her (apparently Sparrow was rich, and had decided to buy the Temple of Light), she realized that Sparrow hadn't chosen Sacrifice. She'd made up her own wish on the spot.

'Right then.' Hammer thought to herself. 'The Monks said she moved to Brightwood. The sheriff said she moved into the old Giles farm. Now, I just need to find the place.'

Along the way, she ran into some bandits at a large, shallow pond. They were easily taken care of, and she didn't feel any guilt at beating them into bloody pulps, which was a huge improvement over how she'd been when she'd left the Spire.

"You're getting slow in your old age." A voice called, laughingly.

Hammer turned around angrily, and froze at the sight. It was a very familiar woman, bulkier than an average citizen but still slimmer than herself. She was tall, and will lines were visible on her skin. Her clothes were like a female gypsy's, only with boots and a ballroom mask. The voice wasn't one she'd heard before, but it could only be one person.

"Sparrow?" She asked.

The other woman grinned at her, and she knew she was right. "Hammer. Or have you gone back to Hannah?"

"It's Hammer." The taller woman replied. "You've gotten talkative. And what happened to your scars?" The balverine claw mark across her face was missing, and the livid red bullet scars on her chest were no more.

Sparrow gestured that Hammer should follow her. "Vanished after I got back from the Spire. The kids didn't recognise me." Sparrow's hair was short and unkempt, different from when they'd first met, when the hero had kept it in what stylist's referred to as 'female adventurer style' in an attempt to remind herself of her childhood. Different again from after she'd re-grown her hair after ten years in the Spire and put it in pigtails to remind herself of her dead sister.

"So, you really managed to save everyone then." Hammer grinned.

Hero barked happily, as if to prove it. They both laughed.

"They'll be thrilled to meet you." Sparrow said. "I've got another kid now, and I'm not planning on anymore. Especially since Alex buggered off. The kids and I'll get on fine by ourselves."

"What?" Hammer spoke harshly. "Alex... left you?"

"Ran off with the barmaid of the Cow and Corset. He lived in the Mendicant's Repose, we lived above the 'World of Chairs'." Sparrow shrugged. "It wasn't even intentional, he'd just start a fight and the rest of us would end up there. It was the only place with enough beds though."

Hammer opened her mouth to ask her best friend if she'd lost her mind, and if she knew where Alex was staying so she could pay him a visit, when Sparrow grinned. "Home sweet home."

Hammer observed the area, and approved. Despite the location (Brightwood was practically Bandit Central for Avo's sake!) it was a nice place.

"Not bad." She observed. "Bit small."

"You're just upset there isn't a pub." Sparrow teased, as a small, golden blur crashed into her.

"Mum!" The girl laughed. "What took you so long?" Noticing Hammer, the girl blushed and began to fiddle with her plaits. "I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't see you there." She bobbed a curtsey. "My name is Scarlet."

Hammer looked at the girl. She looked like a Farmer's daughter, right down to her bare feet and bonnet. She clearly took after Alex, with his colouring and devastating good looks. She'd be a beauty in a few years. "Pleased to meet you Scarlet. I'm Hammer."

Scarlet's eyes snapped up. "Mum's friend from the Temple of Light? The hero of strength?"

"Yes." Sparrow laughed. "Scarlet, be a darling and fetch the others. I want everyone to meet Hammer."

Scarlet grinned, before turning on her heels and running towards the field. Sparrow slung an arm around Hammer and guided her to the house.

"We only have two beds, but both are doubles." She informed her friend. "And there's plenty of space in the food storage for a rest. The furniture's all good, and I'm sure I could find some ale in a cupboard for you. The kids can take care of themselves just fine, but I haven't started training them in Will yet, so ignore them if they start bragging about spells."

She had just finished speaking when Scarlet returned with an older girl, and a younger boy. The girl looked a great deal like Sparrow had when they'd first met, but with a leaner build, and wore her hair in pigtails with a bandana. Her dress was typical of a middle class teenager, although dyed a muted pink and black. Unlike the younger girl, she wore good black shoes.

The boy would have fit in fine in the slums of Bloodstone, with dirty, ripped clothes and mud caking his skin to the point it looked brown. His eyes were a startling bright blue, and his hair was blonder than Sparrow's had ever been.

"This is my son Zayan, and my sister Rose." Sparrow introduced proudly. "I guess someone went digging for treasure again?" She asked the boy.

He grinned at her, a smile that Hammer recognised from the days when Sparrow would use more force than was strictly necessary, and have to apologise for setting a tree or a person on fire.

"Ye gods. What have I gotten myself into this time?" She asked, rhetorically.

Sparrow laughed, and showed her into one of the best homes she'd ever seen. There was just one little problem....

"You have Hollowmen in your basement?" Hammer deadpanned. "And you still live here? What, the bandits crawling around the forest not good enough for you?"

Sparrow rolled her eyes. "It's not like they can get out. If Giles hadn't left The Enforcer in the cellar, I wouldn't even have noticed."

"That's not the point! You've got reanimated corpses in your barn cellar, and you still live here!" Hammer cried out, gesturing wildly.

The Bowerstone hero sighed. "I don't think you get it. There are advantages to having easy access to the undead."

Hammer stared at her, wondering if her fall on the Spire had been worse than originally thought.

"No one's going to miss them." Sparrow explained. "Which makes them good for stress relief, since men turned out to be useless."

Hammer groaned.


End file.
